Election Commission faces dilemma over Ashoknagar collector honour:For best SIR performance, ECI revises list; award to go to Ashoknagar Collector post, not former officer

Confusion arose within the Election Commission of India (ECI) over whether to honour the former or the current Ashoknagar Collector for the best performance in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) campaign. Aditya Singh, who was removed from the post of Ashoknagar Collector, will now not be honoured individually for the achievement. Initially, the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) had written to the state government seeking permission for Ashoknagar Collector Aditya Singh, Betul Collector Narendra Suryavanshi and Neemuch Collector Himanshu Chandra to leave their district headquarters to attend the award ceremony. However, before the process was completed, the state government transferred the Ashoknagar Collector. Award to be given to ‘Collector, Ashoknagar’ As a result, the CEO’s office first released a list naming former collector Aditya Singh for the honour. Later on Saturday evening, the list was revised, and a fresh letter was issued to the state government stating that the honour would be given to the “Collector, Ashoknagar” instead of naming the former officer. Ashoknagar district will be honoured for delivering the best performance in the SIR exercise across Madhya Pradesh. Other IAS officers to be honoured Along with Ashoknagar, four other senior officers will also be honoured by the Election Commission. These include: A total of 27 officers and employees will be honoured for best performance at the state-level National Voters’ Day programme. National Voters’ Day to be celebrated across the state The 16th National Voters’ Day will be celebrated on Sunday at all 71,930 polling stations across Madhya Pradesh. Chief Electoral Officer Sanjeev Kumar Jha said the state-level programme will be held at the Kushabhau Thakre International Convention Centre in Bhopal. Governor to attend state-level event The event will be held under the chief guestship of Governor Mangubhai Patel and will begin at 12 noon. Several dignitaries will be present, including State Election Commission Commissioner Manoj Shrivastava, former Chief Election Commissioner of India OP Rawat, Bhopal Commissioner Sanjeev Singh, and state icons Rajiv Verma, Govind Namdev, Sanjana Singh and Deshna Jain. Awards for officers, BLOs and volunteers Governor Patel will honour officers, employees, master trainers, booth-level officers (BLOs) and volunteers who performed exceptionally during the Special Intensive Revision Campaign 2026. The programme will also include the broadcast of a message from the Chief Election Commissioner of India. Young voters will be given EPIC cards, and all attendees will be administered the voter’s pledge. Officials to be honoured by the Governor Among those to be honoured are: Programmes in all districts CEO Sanjeev Kumar Jha said National Voters’ Day programmes will also be organised in all 55 districts of the state, where officials and volunteers involved in electoral work will be honoured for their contributions.